toll-free number for Vets discharged from the military since 1975

[papau]

toll-free number, 1-800-333-4636, for veterans to call if they notice anything suspicious
Also info is on www.firstgov.gov
Data stolen includes names, Social Security numbers, information on some veterans' physical disabilities, and birth dates, but no actual medical records and no financial information was on the computer equipment that was stolen.

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-22T213655Z_01_N22381377_RTRIDST_0_CRIME-VETERANS-UPDATE-3.XML

UPDATE 3-Personal data on millions of U.S. veterans stolen
Mon May 22, 2006 5:36 PM ET

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - Personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans was stolen from an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who took the data home without authorization, exposing them to possible identity theft, the department said on Monday.

The computer records included names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth for the military veterans and some spouses, the department said. The electronic data related to everyone discharged from the military since 1975, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said.

Lawmakers and veterans' advocates expressed alarm that the government failed to safeguard the data, which could be used in credit card fraud and other crimes.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said that "we have no reason to believe at this time" that the data has been exploited for identity theft.<snip>

[elehhhhna]

1. Wonder how many fake voter registrations the Reeps can make with THAT data

[elehhhhna]

2. VETS: They "lost" your ID but your vote is really, super secure. Yeah.

[RufusEarl]

3. This is unacceptable,

the story i got was it was someone a single person thats responsible for this screwup. Vet's don't need nor deserve this kind of aggravation, this could be a hugh problem.

Lucky for me i got out way before the 1975 date, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

Peace!

[driver8]

4. All crooks need is your social security number...they can do a lot of

damage with that. I had my out going mail stolen out of my mailbox a few years back and the mail included a student loan payment. My SSN was on my student loan payment paperwork and they had a field day with that one.

Luckily, one of the first places that they tried to use my info noticed that I already had an account with them (Sears) and contacted me by phone. I was able to prevent a lot of damage from occuring.

[papau]

5. DUer MATCOM posted some good info - cross posted below:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1271773

Here are the #'s:

The Three Credit Bureaus
Equifax, 800-525-6285, TDD 800-255-0056, www.equifax.com <http://www.equifax.com/ > ;
Experian, 888-397-3742, TDD 800-972-0322, www.experian.com <http://www.experian.com/ > ;
TransUnion, 800-680-7289, TDD 877-553-7803, www.transunion.com <http://www.transunion.com/ > .


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1274144


I just called Equifax and pounded out to a human before setting this up via their automated menu. Here is the poop:

you can either PURCHASE a monitoring service at 50% off (because of the Vet theft) which is around $60. Basically that will alert them if you use any credit cards over $200, activate new cards, apply for credit, etc...

in any of the above cases you would get a phone call making sure you are you. (REAL pain if you ask me)

the FREE service lasts for 90 days. if anyone (including YOU) tries to apply for new credit it would be flagged. they will also extend this service to the other 2 bureaus so one call gets you covered for all 3 for 90 days at no cost.

IMPORTANT: if you DO need to apply for new credit within the next 90 days MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE PERSON YOU ARE APPLYING WITH THAT THERE IS A FRAUD MONITOR IN PLACE OR THEY WILL LIKELY REJECT YOU!

if you tell them when you apply, and the reason, you will simply need to supply more info to them.

again, pain in the ass but do it to protect yourselves as the alternative could ruin you!

if you call the 800 # listed in my first thread, option 1 will get you fraud monitoring services using your touch tone phone.

good luck Vets!

[Lasher]

6. Many vets discharged before 1975 are affected

Here's some scoop from the VA website:

Does this only affect veterans discharged after 1975?

It potentially affects all veterans who were discharged after 1975, which is when VA automated its records systems and began regular input of information received from the Department of Defense on all separating veterans.

When VA automated its records systems, VA also input data from all historical claimant records that had been manually maintained by the agency. This data loss therefore also potentially affects all veterans who have ever filed a claim for VA disability compensation, pension, or education benefits, or who have (or had) a VA insurance policy – no matter when the claim was filed or when they were discharged. These veterans would be included even if their claim was denied or they are not currently receiving benefits.

http://www.firstgov.gov/veteransinfo.shtml

I interpret this to include all those who have applied for VA medical benefits.

Thanks for posting this helpful information.